Malton & Norton Golf Club Greenkeepers

Malton & Norton Golf Club Greenkeepers This page is to keep people upto date with jobs and tasks the Greenkeepers are doing on the course The Course Information Line is 01653 695955

We had some rain! One afternoon that brought 9mm across the course. Some times these small amounts don’t seem a lot but...
10/08/2026

We had some rain! One afternoon that brought 9mm across the course. Some times these small amounts don’t seem a lot but they can be what just keeps the grass living until some more deeper penetrating water falls. As you can see there has been a bit of recovery with slight glimpses of green here and there across the fairways. The continued dry weather at least is allowing us to continue with more small tasks. Last week a different wetting agent is being trialled to see if we can hold moisture for longer, with another heatwave approaching. Some of the smaller hedges have been cut and the 22nd new tee is progressing well. Mornings and nights are changing fast and lights are needed early on now. This week we are tackling the repair of the blocked 9th culvert ditch. Updates posted later this week.

The rain that was promised is looking less and less likely this week. Windy conditions are drying surfaces further and t...
04/08/2026

The rain that was promised is looking less and less likely this week. Windy conditions are drying surfaces further and the natural
Water table has dropped even lower than last week. This has an impact due to the natural spring water than would be forced out refilling ponds and ditches. This is evident, firstly in the 8th pond and 10/14 ditch where I have hardly ever seen run dry and secondly the flow from the ditches on 21/22. As you can see we are pumping over more regularly now to ensure we have some water to use. However even this is now limited to only the driest greens daily and now nothing applied to tees, supply is that low. Wetter and fertiliser has been applied to greens. We have tried matting the greens opposed to verti cutting to reduce stress when managing lateral growth. The pond on the 14th has had excess reed removed. Phil Hart is progressing well with the storage base. And finally a big thankyou to all the volunteers that look after the flowers around the clubhouse. They look superb. 🌺

30/07/2026

Using the amazone to cut and collect the long rough every year reduces the nutrients in the soil and thins growth. This long term, will allow us to use longer grass for improved definition to holes, without excessively thick swards that can slow play and create more maintenance towards the end of the year. This is a balance of which areas grow more, come into play more and look good as part of the character of the course. Depending of the type of year weatherwise, ie rainfall and summer temperatures, can vary the density of the long rough. Our aim is to manage this based on feedback and regular review of playability throughout the growing season

This week is the first time we have noticed the days are shortening, darker mornings and nights are drawing in. This giv...
30/07/2026

This week is the first time we have noticed the days are shortening, darker mornings and nights are drawing in. This given the dry conditions continue, is helping to reduce the length of the hottest parts of the day. Today we passed the latest heatwave, and temperatures look to be around the 20 degree mark for the next 10 days. And…. the ‘experts’ say there is a high likelihood of some longer periods of unsettled weather! Rain? We will see. The good news is that the 3mm we got on Saturday has just given the irrigation system a little bit of back up and allowed us to pump over some water from the other holding ponds. The extraction point has been cleared of w**d and we have we installed some inspection steps and platform to make this process easier in the future.
Other tasks have been to groom the greens and surrounds. And we have continued to cut and collect some more long rough in the outer areas to save time in the autumn. We have also been catching up on machine, tool repairs and facility improvements.

24/07/2026

Today marks 50 days since the last reasonable rainfall at the club. June only brought 40mm, most of that fell in the first few days of June, since then only 5mm has fallen, often barely enough to wet the soil, let alone give the grass the relief it needs. During that time we have had 3 waves of intense heat of around 30 degrees and although now temperatures have cooled it is forecast that another wave is potentially on its way. This video highlights the changes in the course conditions during those last two months. The work that goes on from the staff and volunteers behind the scenes to minimise drought conditions is relentless and my thanks go to my team for their outstanding commitment to the course.

With the dry days still in the short term forecast, work continues with the hand watering and careful water management t...
22/07/2026

With the dry days still in the short term forecast, work continues with the hand watering and careful water management to the greens. On our maintenance Mondays we would look at some refining operations to the surfaces, with the conditions so dry and doing all that we can to minimise stress, we have done a lot less than normal. However this week we had to tickle over the greens with the verticutters to lift long bent ends as they were getting too long in places. The verticutters set only 0.7 mm below cut height to lift coarse bent stalks, this was followed by a double cut.
Some irrigation maintenance is ongoing, cleaning out valves and replacing malfunctioning irrigation heads where needed.
Also while the excavator is still here we tidied up the soil to the left of 12th and the tipping area at 11th, cleaned the pond inlet at 14, and work has started on the 1st woodland for the clubhouse upgrade storage units.

This summer’s weather is unrelenting and even though temperatures have dropped a few degrees due to, now an easterly win...
15/07/2026

This summer’s weather is unrelenting and even though temperatures have dropped a few degrees due to, now an easterly wind, that in itself has created other issues. An easterly wind is drier as it comes straight from the North Sea, dry wind equals faster drying turf. The team have been working tirelessly to ensure water lost through evaporation is replaced as best we can. This is a 7 day, 14 hour cycle, some days we lose the battle as we simply cannot balance the loss and turf dries. As mentioned before water is a very very valuable resource for us, as at a lot of sports turf organisations at the moment so highly efficient use is the only way forward. This week the use of wetters, seaw**ds, fulvic acid and accurate watering has been as important as ever. A combination of water applied by hand, mobile sprinkler and the manual adjustment of the automatic system has been used.
We’re just about finished clearing the ditches and ponds and tidied the 25th path whilst close.
Work has also started on the 22nd new tee.

With water levels at a seasonal low, grass growth minimal and following the contractor cutting of ditches and banks, tod...
10/07/2026

With water levels at a seasonal low, grass growth minimal and following the contractor cutting of ditches and banks, today was a perfect time to start ditch clearance from excess w**d and vegetation. This is done every 3 to 5 years to coincide with a natural lull in cutting due to dry summer months, when access and time allows us to concentrate on alternative jobs. As silt, leaves and vegetation increases it slows our drainage and restricts spring water from flowing to our irrigation ponds. Clearing this helps water flow and provides adequate drainage come winter. The team have shortened holes 21 and 22 whilst the work takes place and we aim to have all areas complete by Wednesday next week. Thank you for your cooperation during this coming week.

This Monday with the Derwent 9 closed we had Neville Maw in to cut the ditch sides and the flood banks. An essential job...
07/07/2026

This Monday with the Derwent 9 closed we had Neville Maw in to cut the ditch sides and the flood banks. An essential job which has to be done in summer due the flooding issues we face down in the bottom section of the course. Assisted by Will taking care of all the bits Neville can’t reach with the strimmer. All done voluntarily by Will. 🙌👏🏻. Neville also does the lane passing places while he is here to make access to the club better. Both have done an excellent job.
Also while the holes were closed we investigated the drain issue we had in spring. The drain pipes were found to be completely blocked by silt and will need replacing this October

The rain has slipped by the course again, and we have now only had 1mm of rain in the past 18 days, where as other local...
02/07/2026

The rain has slipped by the course again, and we have now only had 1mm of rain in the past 18 days, where as other local areas have seen in excess of 20mm. With only 44mm in June the course is browning off in places. Irrigation is being applied cautiously as the springs that feed the irrigation pond are not running as much as usual due to the dry spring. You may see us hand watering high and dry spots and mobile sprinklers on the course, to efficiently use the water we have as the forecast looks to be staying dry. This week we have also applied a wetting agent to help hold moisture in the soil.
Bunker maintenance has continued along with hand w**ding surrounds and edging the front putting green. If any one is willing to help out and w**d the borders around the clubhouse please contact Rich Brown. Thank you

Address

Welham Park, Welham Road
Malton
YO179QE

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Malton & Norton Golf Club Greenkeepers posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category